Anastasia Wilson
Anastasia Wilson is an educator, actor, and devising artist with an advanced foundation in devised and physical theatre and Linklater Voice work. She is a Designated Linklater Voice Teacher and the Assistant Professor of Performance for the School of Film, Media & Theatre at Georgia State University. Her industry experience in both theatre and film collectively span over 20 years. She received her M.F.A. in Physical Theatre from Accademia Dell’ Arte (Italy), and her B.A. in theater from the University of Maryland. In addition to Georgia State University, she has taught extensively at Drama Inc, one of Atlanta’s premier film schools. Anastasia is a co-founder and lead devising artist to performance art group Joy & Pang Productions and Program Directorand Voice Teacher for voice and movement theatre company Panta Rhei. Her personal research involves combining the techniques of flamenco dance as a way to create and develop art across cultures where languages and traditions differ. Anastasia is an arts activist whose work creates space to heal and free the community and the individual. She has performed, trained, and directed in Ireland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Anastasia is currently based in Atlanta, Georgia.
PRESENTATION OVERVIEW
Built With You In Mind: Communication & Play as Culture Building
Play is not frivolous. It is one of the most vital forces in the performing arts. It is the foundation of culture, creativity, and collaboration. Play sparks imagination, fosters authentic connection, and enables us to co-create worlds that did not exist before. But for play to emerge fully, it requires a shared language. This language is not always spoken; it is built through listening, communication, shared intention, and respect for difference. Without it, play becomes fractured, inaccessible, or performative rather than generative.
In this talk, I invite us to consider boundaries and inclusion as overlooked sites of creativity. Too often, institutions gesture vaguely with “all are welcome, ”while leaving barriers intact and missing the richness that comes from sharing culture and practice. What if we viewed boundaries not as obstacles to erase, but as fertile ground for collaboration and cultural innovation? What if we uplifted cultural differences through intentional practices of access, creation, and resource-sharing?
Drawing on my experiences as a devising artist, company founder, community-based creator, and flamenco dancer, I will share how these principles shape my artistic and educational practice.
Years of coaching in film and theatre, and teaching at a major U.S. university, have shown me that inclusivity must go beyond compliance. Cultural differences must go beyond invitation and acknowledgment; they must be integrated as practices of resource-sharing, intentional design, and the honoring of human abundance. The question is how do we do this?
Flamenco has been one of my greatest teachers. More than a dance, it is a way of life that intertwines traditions, rhythms, and voices carried across centuries. Through flamenco, I’ve learned to bring sound, perspective, and embodiment into the devising room, honoring every body, voice, and mind as equally essential. Together, these elements form what I believe is humanity’s original universal language: the interwoven expression of mind, body, and voice. Every culture has a distinct relationship with this trinity, and when these differences enter the creative space, they do not dilute it, they enrich it.
We will also examine the often-overlooked role of intuitive community builders: those who quietly shape environments through listening, sensing, and connecting. They are the hidden infrastructure of our creative ecosystems. By recognizing and amplifying their work, artists and leaders alike can transform community culture.
Participants will leave this session with practical frameworks and embodied examples of how to design spaces where difference is not flattened or neutralized, but embraced as a tool for artistry, sustainable collaboration, and authentic human connection. Ultimately, we will explore how to create cultures where play is not optional, but inevitable. It is the living heart of performance.
Anastasia Wilson
